Learning To Forgive (PART 3)
by HPDrummerman
Summary: Mark makes a surprise visit to California wanting to get Patty and the boys back. Meanwhile back in Sparkyville, Tricia and Roy gets some of the best news in their lives. First, they try finding a surrogate for Tricia to have a child for her, so Scout can have a sibling, and second, Franklin and Marcie move back to town so they can be closer to family.
1. Chapter 1

Learning To Forgive (PART 3)

**CHAPTER 1: UNEASY REUNION**

_Los Angeles, California, July 9, The house of Charlie and Violet Brown, 12:30_

"Mark!" said a surprised Patty, not expecting to see her husband there. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," said Mark. "We need to talk, Patty."

"You said everything you had to when you were making out with that whore!" yelled Patty.

"It's wasn't like that!"

"Oh really?!"

"YEAH, REALLY!"

"Then tell me how it was then, Mark! Tell me how it was!"

"THE WOMAN THREW HERSELF ON ME, PATTY! GODDAMMIT!"

Charlie and Violet stood quiet at the scene that was unfolding. Here was their closest friends arguing about a possible affair and on the verge of divorce. Charlie tried to clear the air.

"If you two want somewhere private to talk, you can use the pool house," he suggested.

"We'll do just that, Charlie," said Patty, still glaring at her husband. They both headed for the pool house where they continued their argument. The boys came out.

"What happened, dad?" asked Chaz.

"Uncle Mark just showed up," Charlie replied.

"Dad is here?!" asked an excited Mitchell.

"Can we see him?!" added Mason.

"I think they want some privacy right now, dear," said Violet. "You'll see him in a bit, though."

"Come on, boys," said Charlie. "Let's head back to the den. I'll put on a movie for you."

"Okay, dad," said Craig. And Charlie and Violet went to the den to put a movie on for the boys.

Back in the pool house, Patty and Mark continued their discussion. Mark was determined to get his family back. He began to explain what happened.

"You remember when I told you that my department received a new boss?" asked Mark.

"Yeah," said Patty.

"Well, that lady WAS my boss. She saw me and decided that I was what she wanted, in more ways than one. She kept hitting on me no matter how many times I told her I was married. She didn't care that I was married with two boys, she wanted to have sex with me, and screw the consequences."

"Didn't you go to H.R.?"

"I did. But the guys over at H.R. were as bad as she was. They were talking about how hot she was and 'how lucky I was to have the hot sexy boss hitting on me'."

"They actually said that?!"

"They did. H.R. was filled with dude-bros and jocks. I even tried to talk to the higher-ups and they re-directed me back to H.R., and you already know they weren't going to do anything. So the day you saw me with her, she forced herself on me. I tried to explain that to you, but you were already gone to California with our boys."

"So she meant nothing to you?"

"Nothing, Patty! In fact, after you left, I quit my job."

"Wait! WHAT?"

"I quit my job there. But I plan on suing the company and the woman for sexual harassment."

"I don't believe this!"

"Sexual harassment works both ways, Patty. Just as it is when a woman is harassed by a man, it happens the other way around, too. Patty, I love only one woman, besides my mother, and that's you. You are the love of my life and I would never jeopardize our marriage like that."

Patty looked in Mark's eyes. She could tell he was serious and seemingly honest about what he was saying. But at the same time, she wondered what was going to happen when they got back home.

"Mark," she began, "I see you are being sincere about all of this. I want to believe you. I just don't know."

"Patty, you are the only woman I love," Mark pleaded. "Don't you want to head back home? I will have to look for a new job, but I still have my pension from the company, so we're financially straight."

"I just want this drama to end!" Patty sobbed.

"I do too, babe!" said Mark, now tearing up himself. "I love you, Patty!"

"I love you, Mark!" And they started embracing and hugging each other. "I'm so sorry for running out without hearing you out!"

"It's okay, Patty. I'm just glad you and the boys are okay. Speaking of which, where are they?"

"Back in the house. Probably in the den." And Patty and Mark headed back to the main house to see their sons."

**NEXT CHAPTER: MORE BABY TALK**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: PLANNING TO EXPAND**

_Sparkyville, USA, The Morrison Home, July 10, 9:00 AM_

At a modest house, Tricia Reichardt-Morrison and Roy Morrison were in bed, cuddled together. They both had the day off from work and was going to enjoy the day together with their son Scout. In the years since Lucy's funeral, Tricia and Roy talked about finding a surrogate to have a child for Tricia with her being infertile. While they were happy with Scout and considered him very much their son, they still wanted a child that had blood connections to them, as well.

Tricia got up first to get breakfast ready for her men. Dressed in sleeping shorts and forest green crop top with flip flops on her feet, she pulled out some eggs, uncured turkey bacon, and whole wheat bread for toast. She also started making oatmeal with brown sugar and honey. As she was cooking, Roy woke up and walked in. Wearing pajama bottoms and tank top, he walked behind his wife and kissed her gently on the neck as she cooked.

"Smells good," said Roy. "And so does the breakfast!"

"Hey you," cooed Tricia, kissing him passionately. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

"I'll see if the paper is outside," Roy replied. And he went out to the front door to see if the paper was outside. Scout walked in in his pajamas.

"Morning, mom," he said.

"Good morning, honey," said Tricia. She kissed him on the forehead. "Take a seat. Your breakfast will be ready in a minute." Roy walked back in with the paper.

"Good morning, champ," said Roy, seeing his son.

"Morning, dad," said Scout. "Is the comics in there?"

"Right here," Roy responded, pulling out the comics section of the newspaper. He handed it to Scout, as Tricia brought over the breakfast for them. They had hard-boiled eggs, turkey bacon, oatmeal with honey and brown sugar topped with bananas, whole wheat toast with butter, and orange juice.

"So what are we doing today?" asked Scout.

"I was thinking about heading to the lake for some water fun," said Roy.

"That sounds like fun, dad," said Scout.

"It sure does, Roy," agreed Tricia.

"We can have a picnic on the beach," Roy continued. "I can bring out the boat and we can do some riding on the lake."

"I can get the basket ready with some food," said Tricia.

"I can bring my snorkel goggles," said an excited Scout.

"I think it's confirmed then," said Roy. "We're going to the lake today. After breakfast, I'll hook the boat up to the Jeep." Just then the phone rang.

"I'll get it," said Tricia. She got up to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"It's Marcie, sir!"

"Marcie! How are you?"

"I got some exciting news, sir!" said a happy Marcie on the other end. "We're moving back to Sparkyville!"

"Really?!"

"Franklin has been transferred to the recruitment center there, so we'll be closer to family."

"What's going on, babe?" asked Roy.

"Marcie and Franklin are moving back to town!" said a happy Tricia.

"No way!"

"We will be here in a few weeks," Marcie continued. "The kids will be happy to see you guys."

"Scout starts kindergarten this year," said Tricia. "Maybe he and your kids will be at the same school together."

"We can only hope," agreed Marcie. "Anyway, I'll let you go. I'll see you in a few weeks, sir!"

"See you soon, Marcie!" And Tricia hung up the phone. She then squealed. "EEEEE! This is so exciting! Marcie and Franklin are coming back! And Scout, their kids will be around more for you to play with!"

"Awesome!" said Scout.

"Well we better finish this breakfast before it gets cold," said Roy. And they finished their breakfast and later got ready for their day on the lake. They couldn't wait for the Armstrong's to come back to town.

**NEXT CHAPTER: CLEARING THE AIR**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: ALONE TIME**

_Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica Pier, 4:45 PM_

Patty and Mark decided to take some time for themselves to talk things through. Charlie and Violet agreed to watch their boys while they sort things out. Originally Patty wanted to be away from Mark, but now that he had made his way out to California wanting to save their marriage, she was now willing to hear him out. They walked along the boardwalk near the pier and watched as the Pacific Ocean's waves crashed into the beach nearby.

"So what happens now?" asked Patty.

"Well I got in touch with our family lawyer and he says we have a good case against the company," Mark responded. "Also some other employees that this woman messed with is willing to testify on my behalf."

"And what about us?"

"Well, I want us to stay together, Patty. That witch never meant anything to me at all. I wasn't interested in her like that. I only love you, baby."

"I know you do, Mark. I'm just so upset. Not at you. Not anymore. But at myself for how I acted about the whole situation. I didn't even get the chance to let you explain what happened before heading out here to California with our boys. I should have trusted you, Mark. And I'm so sorry about that." Patty started to cry.

"It's all right, Patty."

"No it's not! I mean, how can I be married to a wonderful man like you when I can't even stop my jealousy from taking over?! How can you not hate my guts for that?!"

"Because I love you." Patty looked at her husband. He was serious about what he was saying and Patty knew it. "I'm not going to give up on us. We've been together too long for that to happen. The question is, are you with me?"

Patty looked in Mark's eyes. She said, "I'm with you, Mark baby." And the two of them kissed and hugged each other. It was a rough patch in their marriage, but now that she knew that her husband was in fact faithful to her and what that woman did was actually sexual harassment, they could move forward from there. Mark even put in his resume at a new computer company. He told Patty that he should hear from them soon.

_Los Angeles, California, The Brown household, 5:30 PM_

Charlie had fired up the grill and was about to cook some steaks (for the adults) and burgers (for the kids) along with some fire-grilled veggies for toppings. Violet was preparing the side dishes for the dinner in the kitchen. Chaz, Craig, Mason, and Mitchell were watching TV in the den. Patty and Mark's boys were worried about their parents.

"They've been gone a long time," said Mason.

"I know," agreed Mitchell. "I hope things are all right with mom and dad."

"What do you think they're talking about?" asked Chaz.

"Wouldn't know," said Mason. "All I know is that mom was upset when we flew out here. She didn't say why but I heard her mentioning being angry with dad to our grandma over the phone before leaving Sparkyville."

"Well I hope things work out, too," said Craig.

At that moment, Mark's rental car pulled up in the driveway. He and Patty had made it back to the house, and walked in to a pleasing smell in the air.

"You guys just got back in time," announced Charlie.

"What is that pleasant smell?" asked Patty.

"My husband here just finished grilling some delicious steaks for dinner," said Violet. "And burgers for the young ones."

"I am hungry," said Mark.

"When do we eat?" asked Patty.

"Right now seems to work," said Charlie. "Vi, you want to get the boys?"

"Already on it, baby!" And Violet called the boys for dinner, who ran out of the den and joined their parents for a wonderful dinner. The adults ate steak, cooked medium to medium well, fire-grilled vegetables seasoned with garlic, buttered Texas toast, baked potatoes, and red wine. The boys had hamburgers, fries, and milk. Although Patty and Mark had a rough few days apart from each other, they were going to work on rebuilding trust, now that she knew Mark was faithful to her. And he was primed to get an new job at a competing computer company, so things would be okay for them.

**NEXT CHAPTER: FINDING THE RIGHT MATCH**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: THE SURROGATE SEARCH**

_Sparkyville, USA, July 10, The Morrison household, 4:00 PM_

Tricia and Roy were looking for the right surrogate to carry their baby. They had interviewed quite a few women. They needed to find the perfect one who would not try to keep the kid as their own. It looked like they were at a dead end when one last woman rang their doorbell. Roy got up to answer it. Who he saw was a woman with blonde hair, and more freckles than Tricia. While he didn't know who she was, she looked familiar to Tricia.

"Are you the couple who were looking for a woman to carry a baby for them?" she asked.

"I know you from somewhere," said Tricia. "Did you ever go to camp?"

"I did," said the woman. "As a kid I went with my to friends, Shirley and Clara."

"SOPHIE?!"

"PEPPERMINT PATTY?!"

"Oh my GOD!" said an excited Tricia, who hugged her old friend. "I haven't seen you in years! How have you been?!"

"Pretty good," said Sophie. "So you were the one looking for a surrogate to carry your child?"

"Yeah, that was us," said Tricia "My husband Roy and I are looking for someone to carry a baby for me, as I am infertile. You remember Roy, don't you?"

"I almost didn't recognize him," said Sophie, now knowing who Roy was.

"Yeah, we ended up marrying each other," said Roy. "We do have an adopted son named Scout. But we wanted one with blood connections to one of us."

"Well I don't have any children of my own," said Sophie, "and I'm in no hurry to be a mother, but I'm willing to help out an old friend."

"I appreciate this, Sophie," said Tricia. "We want to give Scout a sibling to play with. And with your help, we can do that." And Tricia and Roy discussed the details of what they were doing with Sophie. And now that they had their surrogate, everything was underway.

_Boston, Massachusetts, Logan International Airport, 5:30 PM_

Linus, Audrey, Rerun, Eudora, Larry, and Victoria, along with Zoe and Junior were waiting for their plane to Sparkyville to board. They all decided to go see Lacey before she passed on due to her illness. Linus had called his aunt Marian and planned ahead to surprise Lacey when they got there.

"So what time do we land?" asked Eudora.

"About 10 at night," said Rerun.

"We will be on the late flight for sure," added Linus.

"It will be interesting meeting your ex-wife for the first time," said Victoria to Larry.

"Lacey will be okay with you," said Larry. "I told her about you prior to this, so she's fine with it."

"Dad, we're bored!" whined Zoe.

"Is there an arcade around?" asked Junior.

"Any other time kids, I'd find you somewhere where we can play games," said Linus, "but we will be boarding soon."

"Plus I have your tablets here for you to play games on while on the plane," added Audrey.

"Awesome!" cheered the kids. Pretty soon, boarding had begun, and everyone took their seats. After about fifteen minutes, the Van Pelts were on their way back to Sparkyville.

**NEXT CHAPTER: WHOA MAMA!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: KATHLEEN RETURNS!**

_Los Angeles, California, The Brown household, 7:00 PM_

Charlie and Violet were enjoying the day together. Patty and Mark were doing more things together and also agreed to take all four boys to the Santa Monica Pier for some more fun, while Charlie and Violet had some alone time. They still had one issue involving Violet's mother and settling things with her, but that would wait until Grant had talked to her first.

They were in the backyard laying in a hammock not far from the pool. Violet was laying across Charlie, passionately caressing him and kissing him. She looked up and said, "I am such a lucky woman to have a wonderful man like you, Charlie."

"And I'm lucky as well, Violet," said Charlie. "Never in a million years would I think I'd be married to Violet Gray. And here we are. Together with two wonderful boys, a nice house, you are a successful actress, and me being an owner of two five-star restaurants with another in the planning. Life couldn't be more pleasant."

"All I know is even if we didn't have all of this, I'd still love you, Mr. Brown," said Violet, with love in her eyes.

"And I'd still love you, Mrs. Brown," agreed Charlie. And they passionately kissed each other. Just then, the doorbell rang, breaking their embrace.

"I better see who that is," said Charlie.

"Don't take too long, baby," said Violet. "In fact, after you get rid of whoever that is, meet me upstairs."

"Sounds like a plan." And he kissed Violet once more before heading for the front door. And Violet went upstairs to get ready for her husband. Charlie opened the door and was shocked by who he saw there.

"Hello, Charles."

"Uh, hello, Mrs. Gray." Violet walked up and her jaw dropped.

"Mother?!"

"Hello, dear."

_Sparkyville, USA, Home of Lacey Van Pelt, 10:00 PM_

Linus, Audrey, Rerun, and Eudora all arrived at Lacey's house. It was the old Van Pelt family home, but since Larry divorced her, and the boys were estranged from her for over five years, it was no longer a family home. Linus and Rerun were nervous because it had been five years since they talked to their mother and how they left things after Lucy's funeral was less than loving. But they were ready to finally fix this problem once and for all before it was too late. Larry and Victoria stayed at the hotel with the kids.

"Do you think she's even up?" asked Rerun.

"Don't know," said Linus. "There's lights on in the house, though."

"Go ahead and ring the doorbell," said Audrey. "The worst that could happen is no one answers."

And Linus rang the doorbell. A young lady dressed in scrubs answered. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Van Pelt is sleeping right now," she said. "You can try again tomorrow."

"Uh, excuse me, miss," Linus began, "but we flew out here all the way from Boston. And we'd like to see our mother, if you please."

"You're Linus and Rerun?!" she asked. The boys nodded. "I'm so sorry. Please! Do come in." And everyone entered the house. Not much had changed since they both lived there, but it had been a while since they both been to the house. Linus hadn't gone back since he married Audrey, and Rerun since he was eighteen. But there were more medical supplies around the house than normal. They spotted a walker and a wheelchair. Their mother had been getting some extensive chemotherapy to battle the cancer. Linus remembered all of this because of his friend Janice Emmons having leukemia back when they were kids.

"You know where her room is, don't you?" asked the nurse. "By the way, my name is Barbara."

"Hello Barbara," said Linus. "As you know, I'm Linus, this is my brother Rerun. This is my wife Audrey and Rerun's fiancée Eudora."

"Nice to finally meet all of you," said Barbara. "Your mother is in bed, but she just got put to bed, so she should still be awake." And all four of them walked to her room. When they saw her, she looked frail. All of her hair was gone and her head was wrapped in a scarf, hiding her bald head. She had lost a lot of weight, probably due to the chemo she was receiving. Linus was the first to walk over to her.

"Mom?"

Lacey weakly opened her eyes and saw her oldest son looking at her with concern.

"Linus!" she said softly. "You came!"

"How are you feeling?" asked Linus.

"Better now that you're here," said Lacey with a weak smile. "Is Liam here, too?"

"Right here," said Rerun.

"No words can describe how happy I am to see both of you," said Lacey. Tears started to flow from her eyes. Her boys finally came back. "I am so sorry for what I put you through dealing with Lucy. I now see the ramifications of my own actions and I now know how I destroyed our family. I don't blame you for turning your backs on me. I just hope you can forgive me."

"Mom, what happened with Lucy and us doesn't matter now," said Linus. "We were hurt, but we made it through. I just want you to know that I finally forgive you for all of that. And I'm here for you in your final days."

"I am too, mom," added Rerun. "I was a bit hesitant at first, but I figured if I don't make peace with this now, I never will. So I do forgive you as well. I just want this whole mess to be in the past."

"I do, as well," agreed Lacey. And she hugged both of her sons. She looked at the two women. "I see Audrey, but is that Eudora?"

"It is mom," said Rerun. "Eudora and I are engaged to be married."

"How are you, Lacey?" asked Audrey.

"I'm okay, Audrey," said Lacey. "Will you be bringing my darling grandkids over to finally meet their grandmother?"

"We will, mom," said Linus. "They're with dad and Victoria at the hotel right now. He'll be coming by tomorrow." And they all continued to talk and catch up. Eventually, Linus, Rerun, Audrey, and Eudora headed back for the hotel. But they would see Lacey again the next day.

**TO BE CONCLUDED…**

_QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE:_ I had originally intended for this to be a five-part mini-series, but I decided to make it four parts because I'm coming close to finishing this story up faster than expected. So look for the final part to this miniseries coming very soon.


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